Agile and Government: The Perfect Storm

This content is syndicated from Agile Development Blog: Scaling Software Agility by kbeers@rallydev.com. To view the original post in full, click here.

Is your organization operating at the level of efficiency necessary to do more with less?

At the recent "Innovation for Government Effectiveness” forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Jan 24, 2013), federal leaders discussed how commercial business models can serve as a template for agency leaders in search of solutions.

Agile development is being used more and more for government IT projects, as was recently highlighted in this Computerworld article. The combination of budget cuts, an uncertain project planning environment, and a powerful need for flexibility is proving to be a driver for agile success in government.

The article even captures the enthusiasm for agile from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ CIO, Roger Baker, who said, “We are huge fans of agile, and are using it in our most critical programs.”

The popularity of agile can be traced to its cornerstones of rapid iterations to show value, customer involvement, and faster delivery. Though simple in concept, Agile isn't necessarily easy in practice, especially when trying to align it with deeply rooted traditional methods. Government IT leaders are challenged to do more with less and to improve productivity and efficiency – and agile is proving time and again to be the right approach.

To learn more about how to make agile work in Government, join our webinar next Wednesday, January 30th at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT where we will answer your tough questions about Agile in Government!